THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2009

THE MIDDLEMAN FINALE COMES TO COMICS

ABC Family has announced a deal with Viper Comics for the "lost" series finale episode to appear in comic-book form this summer.

The Middleman -- The Doomsday Armageddon Apocalypse graphic novel will be written by creator/executive producer Javier Grillo-Marxuach and Hans Beimler, with illustrations done by Armando M. Zanker and layouts by Les McClaine. A special collector's edition will be released in July to coincide with Comic-Con International in San Diego.

ABC Family has also teamed with Shout Factory! to produce and distribute The Middleman Season One DVD, containing all 12 one-hour episodes that aired last summer. The DVD, also due in July, will contain extensive bonus material.

The Middleman television series, starring Matt Keeslar and Natalie Morales, was created and executive produced by Grillo-Marxuach, based on his Viper Comics series illustrated by McClaine.

WOLVERINE AND THE X-MEN: "X-CALIBRE"

Nightcrawler will be in the spotlight in "X-Calibre," Friday's episode of Wolverine and the X-Men on Nicktoons. Greg Johnson, the series' head writer and co-developer, told The Continuum he will be depicted differently than he was in the previous series, X-Men: Evolution.

"When I took over X-Men: Evolution in its second season, the mandate was already in place to portray Kurt as comedy relief, and somewhat of a goofball. And though I snuck in a few dramatic turns for his character later in the series, I always felt we were missing an opportunity with him," Johnson told The Continuum.

"So when Craig Kyle and I had the chance to revisit his character in Wolverine and the X-Men, we were both eager to explore a different side of him. We could either go with the somber, religious version, or the fun, swashbuckler version. 'X-Calibre' gives you an idea which direction we went.

"With a glimpse of where he came from and how he was treated as a young mutant, we're able to understand why Nightcrawler makes the decisions he does in this episode. And why he chooses to stand up for mutant refugees when they're mistreated, seeing value in them that others do not. Throw in a ship at sea, some pirates, some swords, and a slick use of his powers, and we're introduced to a Nightcrawler that's so fun he carries the entire episode himself. X-Calibre was a real thrill for everyone involved."

Here's how the episode is described:

"Cargo ships have a booming side business -- ferrying desperate refugee mutants to the island of Genosha. But when Nightcrawler realizes the refugees are mistreated, he secretly boards one ship and teaches the captain and crew a lesson. It seems like he has the situation under control until the ship is boarded by pirates. These modern-day marauders have made a practice of scuttling ships and abducting the mutants onboard. It's up to Nightcrawler to defeat the pirates and save the refugees in a battle on the high seas."

"X-Calibre" was written by Christopher Hicks and Francis Lombard and was directed by Nick Filippi.

Liam O'Brien provides the voice of Nightcrawler.

WATCHMEN ROUNDUP

Billy Crudup, who plays Doctor Manhattan in the upcoming Watchmen movie, will be one of the first guests on NBC's new Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.

Crudup will be a guest on the series' third show on Wednesday, March 4.

In other Watchmen news:

* To view a clip from the film, featuring Jackie Earle Haley's Rorschach and Patrick Wilson's Nite-Owl, CLICK HERE or on the image above.

* Malin Akerman, who plays Silk Spectre, will be a guest on NBC's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on Monday, March 2.

BONGO COMICS FOR MAY

HEROES: "COLD WARS"

NBC has released eight image from "Cold Wars," the Monday, Feb. 23 episode of Heroes.

Here's how the network describes the episode:

"While being held hostage, HRG (Jack Coleman) is subjected to Matt Parkmanšs (Greg Grunberg) unique brand of interrogation, revealing how he became involved with Nathan's (Adrian Pasdar) government plot to capture those with abilities.